[27/11/2014] A review of the scientific literature on Parkinson’s disease, conducted by SISSA research scientists, shows that even the non-motor symptoms associated with the disease can contribute to the changes in body weight seen in patients, including those subjected to deep brain stimulation.Weight and eating habits in Parkinson’s disease - Read more

[18/11/2014] Scientists at The University of Manchester have identified an important new factor behind one of the major causes of blindness, which they hope could lead to new treatments. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the major cause of blindness in the western world, affecting around 50 million people. It has been shown that sufferers are genetically predisposed to develop the condition.
New insight into common cause of blindness - Read more

[12/11/2014] Developed by a team of neuroscientists and video game designers from the University of Lincoln, UK, and the WESC Foundation, one of the UK's leading specialist schools for visually impaired children, the Eyelander game features exploding volcanoes, a travelling avatar and animated landscapes. They hope the game could hold the key to helping visually-impaired children lead independent lives.Computer game could help visually-impaired children live independently - Read more

[16/07/2014] People can be conditioned to feel less pain when they hear a neutral sound, new research from the University of Luxembourg has found. This lends weight to the idea that we can learn to use mind-over-matter to beat pain.Teaching the brain to reduce pain - Read more

[20/06/2014] University of Washington engineers have designed a low-power sensor that could be placed permanently in a person’s eye to track hard-to-measure changes in eye pressure. The sensor would be embedded with an artificial lens during cataract surgery and would detect pressure changes instantaneously, then transmit the data wirelessly using radio frequency waves.Monitor for glaucoma: Sensor in eye could track pressure changes - Read more

[17/06/2014] After a large stroke, motor skills barely improve, even with rehabilitation. An experiment conducted on rats demonstrates that a course of therapy combining the stimulation of nerve fiber growth with drugs and motor training can be successful.Right rehabilitation lets paralyzed rats grip again - Read more

[12/06/2014] According to researchers in the Walk Again Project, all systems are go for a bold demonstration of neuroscience and cognitive technology in action: On June 12, during the opening of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a paralyzed person wearing a brain-controlled robotic exoskeleton is expected to make the first kick of the football championship.A paralyzed person to kick off the World Cup - Read more

[10/06/2014] In laboratory tests, researchers have used electrical stimulation of retinal cells to produce the same patterns of activity that occur when the retina sees a moving object. Although more work remains, this is a step toward restoring natural, high-fidelity vision to blind people, the researchers say.Making artificial vision look more natural - Read more

[05/06/2014] Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) have jointly developed a new nanomedicine that will allow glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops.Relief to glaucoma patients - Read more

[02/06/2014] Ordinarily, deaf students are left in the dark when they visit a planetarium. With the lights off, they can't see the ASL interpreter who narrates their tour of outer space. With the lights on, they can't see the constellations of stars projected overhead. That's why a group at Brigham Young University (BYU) launched the "Signglasses" project.Signglasses system opens the universe to deaf students - Read more

[09/04/2014] As people approach old age, they generally become less outgoing. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that this change in personality is amplified among people with impaired hearing. The findings emphasise the importance of acknowledging and treating hearing loss in the elderly population.Elderly : Hearing Loss Affects Old People's Personality - Read more

[06/03/2014] Researchers of Tel Aviv University's Goldschleger Eye Research Institute have discovered new evidence that correlates crowding in the fovea — a small part of the retina responsible for sharp vision — and the brain's processing speed. These findings could greatly alter earlier models of visual crowding, which emphasized peripheral impairment exclusively.Vision: Off with Your Glasses - Read more

[25/02/2014] Improving the sense of touch and motor skills without active training – what sounds impossible, does actually work. Neuroscientists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a glove that uses weak electrical pulses to stimulate the nerve fibers that connect the hands with the brain.Stroke: Stimulation Glove Enhances Motor Skills - Read more

[21/02/2014] University of Leicester research reveals why hearing loss is correlated with auditory signals failing to get transmitted along the auditory nerve. A research team investigating tinnitus has revealed new insights into the link between the exposure to loud sounds and hearing loss.Tinnitus: Link between Loud Sounds and Hearing Loss - Read more

[17/01/2014] Imagine seeing a dozen pictures flash by in a fraction of a second. You might think it would be impossible to identify any images you see for such a short time. However, a team of neuroscientists from MIT has found that the human brain can process entire images that the eye sees for as little as 13 milliseconds — the first evidence of such rapid processing speed.Neuroscience: In the Blink of an Eye - Read more

[11/12/2013] Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are one step closer to an eye drop-free reality with the development of a drug-eluting contact lens.Glaucoma: New Drug-dispensing Contact Lens - Read more

[14/06/2013] Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new method to insert genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases.Gene Therapy: Virus Restores Sight - Read more

[13/06/2013] A novel genetic mutation was first identified in 2010 as causing hearing loss in humans. Researchers have now discovered that this mutation induces malfunction of an inhibitor of an enzyme commonly found in our body that destroys proteins.Genetics: Hearing Loss Clue Uncovered - Read more

[23/04/2013] Physicians at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center have become the first in Virginia to successfully implant a telescope in a patient's eye to treat macular degeneration – the leading cause of blindness in older Americans.Implant: Telescope for Macular Degeneration - Read more

[16/08/2012] Two researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have deciphered a mouse's retina's neural code and coupled this information to a novel prosthetic device to restore sight to blind mice. The researchers say they have also cracked the code for a monkey retina and hope to quickly design and test a device that blind humans can use.Eyes: An Artificial Retina Restores Normal Vision - Read more

[24/07/2012] Thanks to tiny microneedles, eye doctors may soon have a better way to treat diseases such as macular degeneration that affect tissues in the back of the eye. That could be important as the population ages and develops more eye-related illnesses.Eyes: Microneedles to Target Therapeutics - Read more

[13/06/2012] Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Centre have completed a study of 158 people who have lived with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for 50 years or more with eye examinations and have concluded that a high proportion of this unique group of patients developed little to no diabetic eye disease over time.Patients: Protected From Diabetic Eye Disease - Read more

[14/05/2012] Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people who have lost vision because of certain types of degenerative eye diseases.Blindness: Retinal Prosthesis Could Better Restore Sight - Read more

[25/04/2012] A research team, led by Doctor John Guy of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami, has pioneered a novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited genetic defect that causes rapid, permanent, and bilateral loss of vision in people of all ages, but primarily males ages 20-40.Mitochondria: Breakthrough for Degenerative Vision Disorder - Read more

[31/01/2012] Age-related delays in neural timing are not inevitable and can be avoided or offset with musical training, according to a new study from Northwestern University. The study is the first to provide biological evidence that lifelong musical experience has an impact on the aging process. Music: Training Has Biological Impact on Aging Process - Read more

[20/01/2012] Do you get a headache from the perfume of the lady next to you at the table? Do cleaning solutions at work make your nose itch? If you have symptoms prompted by everyday smells, it does not necessarily mean you are allergic but rather that you suffer from chemical intolerance. According to a scientist at Umea University this hypersensitivity can be the result of an inability to get used to smells.Hypersensitivity: Why Do Smells Make Some People Sick - Read more

[02/01/2012] There is no drug to treat anorexia nervosa. This complex mental illness that goes along with severe physical impairments requires intense therapy that has one final goal in mind: the affected person is supposed to relearn healthy eating patterns to avoid becoming dangerously underweight. Anorexia Therapy: Allowing yourself to enjoy food again - Read more

[28/12/2011] In childhood, rituals like regular schedules for meal, bath, and bed times are a healthy part of behavioural development. But combined with oral and tactile sensitivities, such as irritation caused by specific fabrics, these rituals could be an early warning sign of adult Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Psychology: Childhood Hypersensitivity Linked to OCD - Read more

[16/12/2011] New research involving scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Tübingen (Germany), the University of Oxford, and the University of Bielefeld (Germany) has demonstrated that humans exploit the correlation between the temporal structures of signals to decide which of them to combine and which to keep segregated.Sensory Perception: Multisensory Integration - When Correlation Implies Causation - Read more

[15/07/2011] Babies have far less ability to recognize rapidly changing images than adults, according to research from the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain. The results show that while infants can perceive flicker or movement, they may not be able to identify the individual elements within a moving or changing scene as well as an adult.Changing Information: Speed Limit on Babies' Vision - Read more

[01/06/2011] In addition to its damaging effect on the environment and its illegal smuggling into developing countries, researchers have now linked e-waste to adverse effects on human health, such as inflammation and oxidative stress – precursors to cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and possibly cancer.E-Waste Pollution: A Threat to Human Health - Read more

[23/03/2011] First discovered ten years ago, it is now the subject of new findings relating to its function: the protein SPRED2 inhibits the hormonal stress response in the body. Whether it also plays a role in the development of illnesses has yet to be established.SPRED2: When the stress brake fails - Read more

[26/04/2010] Ophthalmologists examining infants for possible Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) found that a handheld device provided high-resolution images of the retina and the vitreoretinal interface in infants with SBS, reports a new study.Diagnosis: Device Gives Evidence of Shaken Baby - Read more

[11/12/2009] Researchers report that the human body has an entirely unique and separate sensory system aside from the nerves that give most of us the ability to touch and feel.Skin: Hidden Sensory System? - Read more

[20/04/2009] Nerve signals that tell the brain that we are being slowly stroked on the skin have their own specialised nerve fibres in the skin. This is shown by a new study. The discovery may explain why touching the skin can relieve pain.Brain: Why Touching Can Relieve Pain - Read more